Mammoth Blog

You'll hear all the clichés today about how teams are just looking at this first game and that's all they care about. Maybe that's the right mindset, but we know it's not possibly true. For us fans though, we can look ahead all we want and that's what we're going to do.

It always turns out that a few overlooked games define a season (see: Appalachian State), but we can be sure the game of the year is somewhere below.

We'll go a little heavy on the early games as that tends to set the trend. Here's the biggest games on the 2008 season:

August 30th: Utah at Michigan Easily one of the most anticipated games of this opening week. Michigan has undergone a lot of changes, namely a complete change in the style of play. One game won't define the Rich Rodriguez era, but a loss on opening week will make the mountain he has to climb grow a little larger. It's Michigan, so there's plenty of talent, but the big problem is at quarterback. Don't be surprised to see a good Utah team pull off an "upset."

August 30th: Missouri vs Illinois The Tiger were robbed out of an Orange Bowl berth, but the Kansas Jayhawks clearly represented. That said, you know Chase Daniel and Co. are motivated by that snubbing and want to prove they are one of the best teams in the country. The schedule sets up well for BCS berth, but first, it's rival Illinois. Ron Zook's team is a mystery. Rejus Benn is a game-changer, but Juice Williams needs to prove he's developed as a passing threat to beat Mizzou. Statement game for the Big Ten as well.

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Six-time world champion Oscar de la Hoya is set to formally announce Thursday (Friday in Manila) that he will be facing pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao for his farewell fight on December 6, reports said.

A report posted on ESPN.com cited sources about the public announcement, which will signal that weeks of negotiations between the de la Hoya-Pacquiao camps have finally ended.

News about the official announcement was also reported by Los Angeles-based ABC Channel 7.

Rob Fukuzaki, ABC Channel 7's sports anchor reported that official announcements will be forthcoming August 28th before noon in Los Angeles.

Top Rank's Bob Arum, whose company promotes Pacquiao, would not confirm a deal was in place for what would be the year's biggest fight. He, however, confirmed that de La Hoya would host a media teleconference on Thursday to announce his opponent.

"We'll know who he is fighting tomorrow," Arum told ESPN.com. "I made a commitment that I wouldn't say anything and that tomorrow there would be an announcement. I'm not allowed to make any comments. Everything will be clear on Thursday."

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer would also not confirm the deal but reportedly sounded positive when asked about it.

"Last week the deal was 90 percent dead, but we were able to revive it. The fact that it has been so quiet is a good sign," Schaefer said.

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AMHERST -- The 100th anniversary of University of Massachusetts basketball will take the Minutemen into the lairs of last year's NCAA Division I finalists, and back to Springfield.

First-year head coach Derek Kellogg's inaugural schedule was released yesterday, and it includes road games at defending national champion Kansas and at national runner-up Memphis.

"This is a schedule that is filled with great challenges, but one that we are excited to take on," Kellogg said in a statement. "To play against the two teams who played for the NCAA title last year will be a wonderful experience and one that will get the players and fans very excited."

Kellogg returned to coach his alma mater this past spring, replacing Travis Ford, who took over at Oklahoma State.

The Minutemen will travel to Memphis to play former UMass coach John Calipari's Tigers on Monday, Nov. 17. That game is scheduled to be shown at midnight on ESPN.

It'll be a homecoming for Kellogg, who has been an assistant to Calipari for the past eight seasons.

Then on Saturday, Dec. 13, UMass will play national champion Kansas in a game that'll be at the newly built Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.

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